LESSONS IN FORGETTING is a poignant journey of a single father is search of answers as to what really went wrong with his daughter. One day (she was a part of a theatre group in Minjikapuram, somewhere in South India), she is found on the shore.

LESSONS IN FORGETTING

Zak has to trek back to piece the puzzle as to what really went wrong with Smriti, his feisty daughter. Was it love, lust or something beyond that? These nagging questions keep eating him up as he journeys through and fro to meet up with the boys from her theatre group to get varying versions. He is still groping in the dark until he is told that her 'live-in' boyfriend, Rishi Soman was with her till that fateful day.

But Rishi refuses to answer Zak's call. But the tenacious Zak somehow manages to meet him. However, Rishi only has an answer to one part of the mystery; the other part will come when Zak makes another trek back to Minjikapuram to meet Chinnatai who reveals what really happened to Smriti.

The end, when revealed is both shocking in its brutality and alarming in what Smriti was actually trying to do all by herself, driven by the desire to expose the evil present there in that society.

What is the evil? What happened to Smriti? Was it right for her to explore beyond her capabilities? Above all, what would you have done if you were in Smriti's place? These are the nagging questions with which you will leave the theatre. The statistics that come on screen as the end credits roll, too, are alarming.

LESSONS IN FORGETTING is one of those rare films released in the PVR Director's Rare category. It's a pity mainstream cinema prefers to look the other way when films like these give the audience much more than a movie experience. This is a life-changing experience.

You could look at this film through the eyes of Zak the Dad or Smriti the daughter; either ways, it is an out-and-out winner.

Please, please, please. Do yourself a favour: Watch it.

LESSONS IN FORGETTING directed by Unni Vijayan is an adaptation of Anita Nair's book, by the same name.

Your heart goes out to Adil Hussain who portrays the heart-broken father. What really hits you is his confession when the truth is laid bare: 'I feel so helpless,' he whispers. You also agree with what Smriti (Maya Tideman) is upto, but only until a point. She puts her soul into this performance. As the no-nonsense, carefree girl, she says exactly what she feels, not knowing that sometimes one has to keep emotions in check. But that comes with age and right now, age is not on her side. Her character is only 23 years old!

There are a lot many loopholes, but ones you overlook for the sheer impact this movie leaves on you.

For one, Roshni Achreja's character (Meera) is ill-defined. Her meeting with Rishi Soman played by Raaghav Chanana is weird to say the least and the track of Meera's mother's accident and her involvement with Zak is not cleverly defined.

But all those flaws can wait, because this is one lesson no one would like to forget.